Dedifferentiated chondrocytes reexpress the differentiated collagen phenotype when cultured in agarose gels.
The differentiated phenotype of rabbit articular chondrocytes consists primarily of type II collagen and cartilage-specific proteoglycan. During serial monolayer culture this phenotype is lost and replaced by a complex collagen phenotype consisting predominately of type I collagen and a low level of proteoglycan synthesis. Such dedifferentiated chondrocytes reexpress the differentiated phenotype during suspension culture in firm gels of 0.5% low Tm agarose. Approximately 80% of the cells survive this transition from the flattened morphology of anchorage-dependent culture to the spherical morphology of anchorage-independent culture and then deposit characteristic proteoglycan matrix domains. The rates of proteoglycan and collagen synthesis return to those of primary chondrocytes. Using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of intact collagen chains and two-dimensional cyanogen bromide peptide mapping, we demonstrated a complete return to the differentiated collagen phenotype. These results emphasize the primary role of cell shape in the modulation of the chondrocyte phenotype and demonstrate a reversible system for the study of gene expression.[1]References
- Dedifferentiated chondrocytes reexpress the differentiated collagen phenotype when cultured in agarose gels. Benya, P.D., Shaffer, J.D. Cell (1982) [Pubmed]
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